By 146 BCE Rome has conquered Greece and taken over areas Alexander the Great colonized such as Egypt, the Scottish coast, Great Britain, France, Spain, Africa and parts of the Mediterranean Coast.
Roman design brings together Greek ideas and ideas from cultures the Romans have colonized. 300 CE, at the height of Rome, the Colosseum held tremendous amount of people, large public buildings spanned from the Colosseum and moved up North to form the main forum. Buildings were spreading out as Rome was heavily populated and engineering accomplishments were prevalent in daily life. Romans take ideas from Greek cities and magnify and strengthen these, their vision is about bringing together a diverse population because they are aggressive colonizers. They impress people wherever they go and provide buildings that bring people together to acquaint them with the roman culture.
A round enclosure can be seen through the Colosseum divided into horizontal rings with arches and columns. It is the development of arches that allow buildings to span great distances in Ancient Rome. The arch is a stronger form than trabeated architecture, post and lintel. The arches spread weight in a more even way allowing the buildings to raise taller. Romans develop concrete and molded concrete is strong thus providing strength to buildings. Arches with columns in between run around the exterior. Layers of columns are arranged in a particular way.
Colosseum – Image courtesy of History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum
The lower part of the Colosseum has a more simple order which is doric, next is ionic above is corinthian. The top has flat pilasters, which are not free standing, rectangular in form with a composite capital. Composite capital is a development of Roman order. The Forum was at the centre of public life. It would be where the important buildings would be built. Here roadways were established for goods to come through. Roman life was about social interacting as long as you were male and were wealthy; which, is predominantly one of the purposes of the Forum. In Rome most people spent their times outside. Buildings were meant to house civic interactions, market, baths, worshipping, political and meant to be monumental. Thermae, semicircular windows divided vertically were used in bathes. Roman interiors had this feeling of grandness when one entered them.
The Pantheon from 126 CE, front has temple form, columns, entablature and pediment. The back has a domed space. Large coffered dome can be seen and the dome itself sits on a drum encircled in windows. Below is a rhythmed wall of solid wall and space. Romans were polytheistic and had their own gods and adopted Greek gods, giving them their own names. Furthermore, an oculus can be seen in the dome ceiling to allow light in and allows roof to be lighter. Massive arches and domes are a creation of the Romans. The dome becomes a series of arches and the Romans develop an idea of making the dome thinner and thinner to lighten the weight and coffering helps. The space is perfectly geometrically.
The Pantheon – Image courtesy of History.org
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/pantheon
The Basilican form is another important architectural development and starts as part of civic architecture. The Basilican form becomes important to the Church. The Basilica of Constantine in Rome 312 CE, the rectangular building is arranged with a central nave that ends with an apse. Aisles are on either side and support the roof. This combines arches with a central portion that has a peaked roof which is trabeated architecture. This allows for open space, used for trade, court, markets and also some used for religious purposes. The apse, is important for instance for a local magistrate’s seating to oversee legal issues.
Baths of Caracalla, were used for various purposes such as cleansing, socializing and swimming. These places allowed architects to experiment with open and closed spaces including grand vistas. These were advanced architectural accomplishments.
Baths of Caracalla – Image courtesy of researchgate.net
The Romans, in addition to adopting the Greek orders created their own orders as well. The Tuscan order had a simple base, capital and no fluting. The Roman order which was similar to the Greek order, also had a base.
The Composite Order which comprised of a Corinthian column combined with the ionic column, gave the top of the column strong geometric volutes. The Roman design overall is fancier, very empirical, more luxurious and more wealthy. A country that was looking to colonize and spread their power and wealth all over.
DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE
Pompeii gives insight into domestic architecture. Homes of the middle and the upper middle class were residing along paved streets. Romans built throughout Europe to connect the major cities. Houses were close together with narrow sidewalks. Houses were all one and two story buildings. Front ground story being a store or office as opposed to a private home.
The House of Vettii was the home of wine merchants. The garden area was surrounded by a peristyle. Homes are inward looking similar to Greek windows. They have internal courtyards for light and air circulation which was an urban trait. Shared walls were also prevalent in these areas. Also, prevalent was greenery and water to relax within the home. The peristyle was covered with roof to create a hallway. The upper level has rooms. Gardens are large and open with columns and the centre had a fountain. The atrium is to the right of the garden and the centre of that area has and impluvium which is reflecting pool to catch water from the roof. Some of the rooms are specific, such as the triclinium or dining room. Floors were multicoloured and marble mosaics were laid into complex patterns with figurative and geometric motifs.
Image courtesy of BBC.co
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_art_gallery_01.shtml
The candelabrum is a very popular design motif with a vertical panel and a central motif around it which are arabesques and grotesques twisting and turning up the length of the candelabrum. This entails a playful, architectural quality. The most important furniture would be at least three couches used for relaxing, sleeping and for socializing and eating. Raised area at either end of the couch or one end of the couch is called the fulcrum. The fulcrum is raised high with a foot stool and turned legs ending in inverted cones. The high quality craftsmanship is carved with areas set in glass.
Common furniture was comprised of stools, in particular the curule stool form. The curving x form was popular from Egypt, Greece and Rome. Sometimes seating was simply practical and other times seating entailed important seats such as thrones which were made from carved stone. Swirls, rosettes, corbel in flowing rounded form were all typical motifs. Furthermore, raising the furniture gave it a sense of importance.
Tables were a very common piece of furniture in ancient Rome as tables for used for dining, displays and offerings. Folding tables could be found with a tripod form and three legs. A single paw foot with animal form legs and Griffith wings held the top of the table up with scrolling elements with a stretcher at the base giving it stability. These inspired Renaissance and Neoclassicism.
Moreover, there was tremendous gold jewellery in Rome. The Romans developed glass blowing to create decorative objects for their own use and export. Most famous was the Portland vase. This is a type of cameo glass and after the form is blown it was cast with more glass that melds to the under layer and white glass is covering the surface and ground away to reveal dark blue beneath. Furthermore, fine beautiful carving decorated these objects.In the 18th century Wedgewood produces a replica of the Portland Vase. Classical design informs design in later years.
Information courtesy of New York School of Interior Design “HIstorical Styles 1” class